Marketing ethics refers to the moral or ethical dilemmas that might arise in a business setting (Grewal,Levy).  An ethical issue that will be address in this post is corporation’s marketing strategy towards children. The percentage of child obesity has been continually increasing , causing society  to question social responsibilities of corporations. Corporations spend millions of dollars creating marketing strategies targeted towards children, because they perceive them as an easy access to their parent’s wallets. For example, McDonald offers a “Happy Meal” option for children, accompanied with various toys that suits a child’s palate. The toy can make a child’s day, but the calories of a Happy Meal can expand their waistline. With the uprising of an obesity epidemic, McDonald has responded by  offering healthy alternatives to their Happy Meals; apple slices with caramel, homogenized milk cartons but still paired with their french fries, cheese burgers or mcnuggets. Have we reached the point that the terms “healthy eating” and “fast food” are no longer mutually exclusive?

Advertising to children is inherently delusive because children takes things seen in the media literally. Media plays  large part of children’s lives: shaping their thoughts, opinions and influencing their food preference which encourages them to ask their parents to purchase food seen on television. Children are drawn to the music, visuals carried by the messages, aka toys that come along with not only Happy Meals but other culprits of the fast food industry. Advertisement has the potential to cause harm to children. Corporations may not be the cause of the obesity trend, but they are certainly contributing to it through their allusive commercials that draw children in.

 

We’re not just eating fast food, we’re becoming fast food !

 

Sources:

Media Smart. (n.d.) H0w Marketers Target Kids.  Retrieved from http://mediasmarts.ca/marketing-consumerism/how-marketers-target-kids

Business Ethics. (n.d.) Marketing to Children: Accepting Responsibility. Retrieved from http://business-ethics.com/2011/05/31/1441-marketing-to-children-accepting-responsibility/